[HISSTANK]

Originally posted by: Shin Densetsu @ Hisstank.com

Quote:

Richard Gottlieb of the Gifts And Decorative Accessories site, has recently posted an article debating if movie tie-ins are good for toy brands. While his article goes over the success of Cars 2 toys for Mattel, it also questions if a bad movie will doom a toy brand/line. Interestingly enough, GI Joe does come up in the discussion:

So, the question is how many of the children who leave Hot Wheels for the latest Cars themed products come back to Hot Wheels? In addition, what is the impact of a bad movie on an evergreen? My sources tell me that GI Joe has not recovered its former strength since the ill-fated movie came out. Rather than see it as a traditional toy, children who saw the movie saw it as just one of last summer's tie-in movies. Once the movie was done, they moved on to the next movie.

Movie tie-ins are important to the toy industry and no one is suggesting we back off. We may, however, want to think twice about the overall impact of a movie tie-in on the long term health of our highest value brands.

You may notice that the 1st live action Transformers Movie line broke the stigma(especially during that time...the Spiderman 3 and Pirates Of The Carribean lines weren't flying off of shelves) that "movie toys don't sell". Since 2007, plenty of movie toys have graced, and warmed, the shelves, even those tied into blockbuster hits such as Star Trek, and Avatar(to name a few). Unlike other movie toylines, the 2007 Transformers Movie line could not keep supply up with demand. Sure there have been other successful movie toy lines in recent years, but it's safe to say that most movie toylines weren't outright successes.

With the GI Joe 30th Anniversary line seeming shorter than expected, and GI Joe Renegades On Hiatus, it does seem like Hasbro is putting more effort into GI Joe II.

However, do you think this is the right direction to go in? It definitely seems that GI Joe II will be notably different from Rise Of Cobra, but do you think it's worth the risk, depending on the next movie to reinvigorate the GI Joe brand? Note that aside from the IDW GI Joe Comics, GI Joe II is the only big media tie-in planned for 2012. Any new animated series will come afterwards. Thoughts?

Read More: Discussion Point - GI Joe Weaker After Rise Of Cobra @ G.I. Joe - HissTank.com.